Chapter 2 — Setoff
Kim Jiseok, the magistrate of Yeongsan County, had been suffering from exhaustion due to the constant stream of lawsuits.
Ever since that policy was implemented, governing this county has become more difficult by the day...
One day, His Majesty had suddenly emphasized the importance of national law and announced that local officials would henceforth be strictly forbidden from making arbitrary judgments that could create unjust victims.
Perhaps because of that, disputes over trivial matters had become far more common.
People came to complain of injustice almost every day.
Of course, it was a magistrate's duty to govern the county properly and resolve the grievances of the people.
But lately, things had gone too far.
Good grief. Coming all the way to the government office to argue over a debt of eggs and a debt of rice.
Such a thing would have been unimaginable in the past.
How dare they come to a government office and demand judgment over something this petty?
If Kim Jiseok followed his instincts, he would have kicked them out immediately.
But rumors said a royal inspector would arrive soon.
No one knew exactly when.
He couldn't help worrying about the secret royal inspector.
And although the matter looked trivial at first glance, the circumstances meant he couldn't simply dismiss it.
Their situation is unfortunate.
To summarize the dispute:
Euldori had once lent Gapdori some eggs.
Gapdori had never repaid those eggs.
Later, Gapdori lent Euldori rice.
The problem was...
Rice had been cheap when Gapdori lent it out.
Now there had been a poor harvest, causing rice prices to rise sharply and supplies to become scarce.
The amount of rice Gapdori had lent was enough to feed his entire family for several months.
If he didn't get it back, his family could immediately go hungry.
There is no other choice. I must deliver a wise judgment.
The magistrate carefully considered both positions.
Both had reasonable arguments, making it difficult to decide who was correct.
But...
No matter how I think about it, this is still infuriating.
Gapdori had done something that rubbed Kim Jiseok the wrong way.
What had he done?
He had borrowed eggs from Euldori first and never repaid them.
How shameless to claim injustice when he hasn't even repaid his own debt.
Looking at the situation calmly, none of this would have happened if Gapdori had repaid the eggs when he was supposed to.
...Fine.
After much thought, Magistrate Kim was just about to rule that Euldori's argument was reasonable and that both debts should simply cancel each other out.
"So the issue is whether setoff is valid."
At that moment, some pale-faced scholar casually interrupted.
...What did he say?
Kim Jiseok did not fully understand the terminology.
But the scholar's attitude, as if the case were ridiculously simple, irritated him.
One of the constables guarding the magistrate shouted angrily.
"Who are you?! How dare you speak carelessly during a trial!"
"S-Sorry! It was something I knew, so it slipped out."
Doyul hurriedly apologized.
Unfortunately, his words unintentionally irritated Magistrate Kim even more.
"...Everyone else, remain quiet. You there. Are you saying you know how this matter should be judged?"
Doyul cautiously glanced around before answering.
"I do."
Kim Jiseok stared at him suspiciously.
Did he prepare for the legal examination? Or is he an oejibu? ...There shouldn't be any oejibu in a place this far from the capital.
As Kim Jiseok continued observing Doyul, he suddenly felt something strange.
...Wait. Come to think of it, his face... resembles that fellow quite a bit.
The memory of an old acquaintance softened Kim Jiseok's anger slightly.
Donggu suddenly dropped to his knees.
"S-Sorry, sir! The Young Master misspoke!"
"I told everyone else to remain quiet!"
Donggu tried to smooth things over for Doyul.
It didn't work.
"Then let me ask you. How should this matter be resolved?"
"...Excuse me?"
"W-We are doomed!"
In Joseon, criminal litigation had guides such as the Gyeongguk Daejeon and the Great Ming Code.
Civil litigation, however, depended almost entirely on the judgment of local officials.
Half curious and half offended, Kim Jiseok had decided to test Doyul.
I hope your answer is impressive enough to make me forget your insolence.
Unfortunately for him...
It was an absurdly easy question for Doyul.
...Why is a historical drama asking about setoff?
Things had become ridiculous immediately after his arrival, but solving the urgent problem came first.
Doyul sighed.
He was about to explain the relevant statutes, legal principles, and precedents in detail.
Then his entire body froze.
...Wait.
This is Joseon.
What good would modern statutes and precedents do here?
This was a historical drama set in Joseon.
If he started citing modern law, he'd sound insane.
Seeing Doyul freeze, Donggu quietly whispered to him.
"Young Master, we're in really big trouble! But your loyal servant Donggu has a brilliant solution."
So this man is my servant? He has a solution? Maybe Joseon doesn't have setoff, but perhaps there's a similar principle.
"...What is it?"
"First, pretend you're sick and roll around on the floor. This Donggu will handle everything else!"
He wanted Doyul to pretend to be ill, escape the situation, and earn sympathy.
...You call that a solution?
"Haah. Never mind. Just stay quiet."
"Y-Young Master! Getting flogged hurts! If you keep saying strange things, your backside is going to catch fire!"
...I'll just have to explain it as simply as possible.
Doyul ignored him and focused.
Some people believed law was a field built on memorizing statutes.
But...
Law was not the study of memorization.
Keep it concise.
Law was about extracting the true meaning behind statutes.
It taught you how to think like a legal professional.
...And make it clear.
If one understood the principles...
They could be applied in countless ways.
That was what it meant to have a legal mind.
The real question was whether the magistrate could accept his reasoning.
Doyul decided to trust himself.
I've never tried approaching it like this before...
His eyes shone like stars as he reviewed the legal principle.
"Y-Young Master?"
But it's definitely possible.
Donggu was startled by the intelligence shining in Doyul's eyes.
Doyul slowly opened his mouth.
"I will explain. The answer to this case is..."
Setoff was a modern legal concept.
Article 492, Paragraph 1 of the Civil Act. Requirements for setoff.
[When two parties owe each other obligations of the same kind and both obligations have become due, either obligor may set off the obligations to the corresponding amount. However, this does not apply where the nature of the obligations does not permit setoff.]
The wording was complicated.
But the concept itself was simple.
When two people owed each other, they could cancel the debts against one another.
That was setoff.
Therefore, in modern legal language, Euldori's argument was essentially:
I'll set off my rice debt using my claim for the eggs you owe me!
The issue is obvious.
There was no need to overcomplicate it.
Among the requirements for setoff, the only real question here was whether the two obligations were of the same kind.
In other words, were the obligation to return eggs and the obligation to return rice legally equivalent?
If they were the same type of obligation, setoff would work.
If not, it wouldn't.
And Doyul's conclusion was...
"Gapdori's argument is correct. The two debts should not be canceled against each other."
"Yes!"
"What?!"
Gapdori and Euldori reacted in opposite ways.
The magistrate frowned.
"Why do you believe that?"
"If they had lent each other the same thing, there would never have been a dispute in the first place."
The magistrate paused to think.
The scholar was right.
If both had lent each other identical goods, there would be no reason to argue over it.
"...That is true."
"If you follow that principle, you can see that two debts must necessarily be of the same kind before they can cancel one another."
The magistrate nodded.
"Of course rice and eggs are different. But is that alone enough to say the debts cannot cancel each other? Rice and eggs could be sold at the market for similar prices. Wouldn't that mean Euldori's argument is correct?"
"Exactly!"
Doyul was slightly surprised.
...That's a sharper question than I expected.
If someone thought about the requirements for setoff mechanically, that was a perfectly natural question.
The obligations have to be the same type to allow setoff? Why? Just because the law says so?
But one legal scholar had described law as highly refined common sense.
Which meant that if you understood the principle behind the law, you could reason out the common sense and justification beneath it.
"Your words are correct, Magistrate. If efficiency were the only concern, then Euldori's approach would indeed make sense."
"Are you admitting that you were wrong?"
"No. When several values conflict, shouldn't we determine which deserves greater protection?"
Efficiency was important.
But that wasn't the end of the matter.
"...What do you mean?"
"I would like to ask three questions. First, why do commoners borrow food?"
"Because they don't have enough food to eat immediately."
"Second, why did you believe Euldori's argument was reasonable?"
"Because then neither side would need to go through the trouble of buying goods merely to repay the other. Wouldn't that be more efficient?"
In principle, the magistrate wasn't wrong.
Setoff existed precisely for efficiency.
But...
Efficiency was not automatically the most important value.
Doyul asked calmly.
"...Lastly, between the safety of the people and efficiency, which do you believe is more important?"
Only then did Magistrate Kim realize where the argument was heading.
"Naturally... the safety of the people."
"That is why debts involving different things should not be canceled against one another."
"What do you mean?"
"Right now, we're only talking about rice and eggs. But if we allow repayment with different goods simply because it is efficient, it could create much greater dangers."
The magistrate had already felt uncomfortable about accepting Euldori's argument, so he listened carefully.
"...Explain in detail."
"If someone borrows rice and is permitted to repay it with another item, what happens if they offer straw sandals or a walking stick instead of eggs? The lender expected to receive rice back. Wouldn't they suffer if they were given something they cannot even eat?"
"..."
"And when the original loan was made, the agreement was to lend rice and later receive rice in return. If people are permitted to substitute something entirely different..."
Doyul recalled one of the most fundamental principles of law.
Pacta sunt servanda.
Agreements must be kept.
"People will stop trusting each other. Good faith between them will disappear. What greater problem could there be? Unless there are exceptional circumstances, promises must be kept."
The principle of setoff pursued efficiency while protecting transactional safety and trust.
But destroying trust for the sake of convenience alone?
That's ridiculous.
Eggs could not truly substitute for rice.
And trust was far more important than mere convenience.
On one side were the people's security and mutual trust.
On the other was efficiency.
It was obvious which mattered more.
Magistrate Kim was almost completely persuaded.
Yet he raised one final objection.
"However... shouldn't we also consider Gapdori's wrongdoing in failing to repay the eggs?"
"Yes. But that wrongdoing should be addressed directly by requiring him to repay the eggs. It would be unreasonable to allow the debts to cancel merely because we find him objectionable. Therefore, the two debts should remain separate..."
Doyul concluded firmly.
"Each debt should be judged on its own."
"Good heavens..."
At first, Kim Jiseok had intended to teach the insolent scholar a lesson.
But now...
He genuinely liked the young man before him.
So his confidence wasn't baseless. He's truly gifted.
"Promises must be kept... Ha! You are correct. Your intelligence is no ordinary thing. Very good!"
Kim Jiseok nodded happily before speaking in a dignified voice.
"I deliver my judgment! The plaintiff is correct that the two debts cannot be canceled against one another! However, Plaintiff Gapdori shall repay the eggs owed to the defendant as soon as possible, together with interest!"
"...Understood!"
"...Yes, my lord!"
After hearing Doyul's reasoning, both Gapdori and Euldori were so overwhelmed that neither dared object.
"And..."
The magistrate turned toward Doyul with a smile.
"You. Come see me before you leave."
"...Excuse me?"
Kim Jiseok had served in this county long enough to believe he had already discovered every reasonably intelligent person in the area.
Yet suddenly...
An exceptionally clever young man had appeared before him.
